These would make a great weeknight meal when you want something quick, flavorful and hearty. You could even sub large tortilla shells and make this into a burrito, or put everything atop salad greens for a more vegetable-heavy dish.

If you try these tacos, let us know how it goes! Leave a comment, rate it, and take a picture and tag it #minimalistbaker on Instagram (our favorite) so we can see. Cheers, friends!

2 very ripe large plantains*, peeled and cut on an angle into 1/4-inch slices

1 Tbsp (15 ml) coconut oil

2 Tbsp (18 g) coconut sugar (plus more to taste)

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp sea salt (plus more to taste)

1/8 tsp cayenne

BLACK BEANS

1 15-ounce (425 g) can black beans (if unsalted, add more salt)

1/2 tsp ground cumin

pinch cayenne (or chili powder)

TACOS

8-10 yellow or white corn tortillas or taco shells

FOR SERVING optional

1 jalapeño, seeds removed and sliced

Fresh cilantro, chopped

1/4 red onion, diced

Hot sauce / salsa

Lime juice

Instructions

Add black beans to a small saucepan over medium heat and add spices. Once it reaches a low boil, turn heat to low to keep warm, stirring occasionally.

Peel and chop plantains and heat a large metal or cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add plantains to a mixing bowl and toss with spices.

Once pan is hot, add coconut oil and plantains and spread into a single layer. Sauté on one side for 2-3 minutes, then flip and sauté on the other side for 2-3 minutes more. Turn down heat if browning too quickly. You're going for a caramelized effect. Set aside.

In the meantime, prep desired toppings and warm tortillas by wrapping in a damp cloth or paper towel and warming in the microwave for 20 seconds (or place tortillas directly on an oven rack for 1-2 minutes in a 350-degree F (176 C) oven).

To assemble, top tortillas with black beans, plantains and desired toppings. I preferred salsa, hot sauce, red onion, cilantro and jalapeño. Ripe avocado would also make a great addition.

Best when fresh. Serves 3-4 generously.

Notes

*Make sure your plantains are deep yellow with brown spots and tender to the touch. Otherwise, their flavor won't be as developed and they can be chewy in texture.

Hi Dana!
Love your blog and your amazing simple to make recipes. When I saw this my eyes completely bulged out of my head, cartoon style. Lol I really love plantains too so will definitely be checking this out!

Hi Dana, just wanted to say that I love your site and have made several of your recipes. I check your page everyday for inspiration. Everything you make looks absolutely amazing. The tortillas you use always look so good, what brand do you buy if you don’t mind my asking. Thanks for all the great healthy ideas!!!

Is it the 365 brand? I would slso appreciate the info! Helps a lot since I’m just starting vegan cooking for my family and don’t have time to sort through all the different brands. I saw some in the “dairy” section where they have shredded cheese – is this where you find your tortillas Dana?

This is a great idea to sweeten the plantains and putting them into a savory dish :D

I’ll also make your 5-ingredients granola bars again today. I’ve been making these for the past few weeks 1-2 batches a week. My boyfriend takes them to work for breakfast and he gets kinda upset if they’re not in the house … hahaha ;-)

Hey Dana! I was just listening to your episode on the One Part Podcast, and I loved getting to know you a little better and listening to all your mega-tips. You are John are tops and so great at what you do. And, I’m realllly lovin’ these tacos. Keep fighting the good fight, xo.

I tried these tacos today. They turned out to be delicious. I cooked my black beans in oressure cooker and I made my own corn tortillas. I used peach salsa and hot sause for optional ingredients.
They tasted wonderful, I especially liked the spices on the plantains. Who needs meet to make delisious tacos.
Thank you for sharing this great recipe.

Just made these! I don’t normally comment on blogs but they came out so wonderful. I have made plantains many times but I’ve never put any spices on them- they’re delicious. The flavors are all perfect together. Thanks!

I made these tonight and we were too busy scarfing them down to take photos! I made the black beans from scratch, and we sautéed some red onion and bell pepper. Also added some back cheese, sour cream and guacamole. We are going to try to reheat the leftovers for dinner tomorrow and see how that works.

These were amazing!! They only took about 15 minutes total, and you can’t beat that for a homemade plant based dinner. I’ve made so many recipes from your site but this is definitely in my top 5 favorites!!

I made them and the plantains came out amazing!!! however, can you clarify what you mean in re: to bringing the can of black beans to a boil. Was I supposed to leave the water from the can in them? I drained them, before putting in the pot so was unclear how beans could boil?

As someone who is from Dominican Republic and OBSESSED with plantains, I was SO excited when I saw this recipe! Plantains and black beans are two of my favorite foods and tacos are my other! Can’t believe I’ve never thought of putting plantains into tacos. Will definitely be making this recipe this week!

Hi Dana!
We made these babies last night and boy oh boy were they ever good! My boyfriend raved about them and I think he will be requesting this as a weekly meal from now on! What a great treat / something different for a meat free Monday :) Keep the hits comin’ girl!

I loved these. Spices are a great combo and plantains are almost buttery tasting. Wouldn’t change a thing. The salsa I used is HEB medium salsa (fresh from produce section). Will definitely make these often.

So so so so great! Can’t tell you how much I enjoyed these! I never would have thought of putting something sweet in the tacos but it goes so well with the basic black beans and the lime and cilantro. I put green tomatilla salsa on them and it was great. This was a good one for cooking for one and lasting for several days (I don’t like cooking every day. I’m lazy, what can I say?) Can’t wait to try some more of your excellent recipes :)

You are a genius! Plantain and black bean tacos are my fave at El Rey (fast food place in Houston…I know I know…the “f” word). I’ve made your version twice and they are amazing. My only problem is that I always burn the first batch of plantains :'(

If you’re ever in need of more food-spiration, you can be my hero and make a delicious homemade version of El Rey’s mango pie. Just sayin’.

So I’m definitely not an expert in the variations of mango pie, but the one at El Rey is like a super custard-y sweet potato pie, but made with mango (duh). Their pie has a normal pie crust (cooked), but I think it would be really good also with a cooked graham cracker or maybe vanilla cookie crust (you know those cookies that look like flowers and have super sugary icing in the middle…bottom row of the grocery store…oh yeah – those babies). No pressure to craft this fast food dessert into a luscious, vegan pie of my dreams…but I await your concoction with a drooling mouth. Just saying :)

Sounds yummy as heck! Are the beans supposed to be drained though? Or do you keep the juice? I don’t understand how you could boil them otherwise, but canned beans juice isnt exactly the tastiest thing ever…
Thanks for helping me out!

I’m meal planning for four adults with very different likes and my whole family loved this. It’s a 5 star recipe in our book. My husband loves meat, I changed to clean raw food 10 months ago, my dad will eat anything I serve him, and my son just told me a month ago he was now a vegan so I was searching for vegan recipes and landed on your site. I see lots of great recipes I can’t wait to try.

Holy guacamole! This was SO good. We sauteed some broccoli and mixed with homemade black beans (only takes 1 hr. 45 mins. on stove with cover and salt). Some homemade pico de gallo on top. Our plantains were yellow (not green) but not ripe…was delish. Fantastico! Thanks!

I have made these dozens of times by now… and they never fail to hit the spot!!! I was thrown at first by the sweet smell when I was mixing everything together, but these are just perfect every.single.time.

As usual with Minimalist Baker, an absolutely amazing recipe. My boyfriend and I can’t get enough, I’ve been making them at least once a week for over a month. Add some Tofutti Better Than Sour Cream to the suggested toppings and take it to the next level!

These were really, really delicious and a very simple weeknight recipe. Thank you for that. I simplified the method a bit by just stirring the black beans in at the end to warm and adding the extra cumin from the black bean mixture into the plantains and it worked out perfectly. Next time I might add a bit less sugar (my plantains were so sweet as to not need much caramelization) and a bit more heat (I used chipotle chili powder in place of the cayenne. These were so lovely. Thank you for the recipe.

In one comment you say to use the liquid from the can to boil the beans, and in another comment you say you drain them. Do you use the liquid from the can to boil them, and then drain them once they’re hot?

These were amazing! I didn’t have any of the yummy toppings to put on top but they were still absolutely fantastic! I topped it off with some cooling watermelon for dessert and frankly I’m so full I don’t know if I’ll ever eat again!

Hi Dana, I have made this recipe and was really very happy with it. I never used plaintains (had to look it up because I dit not know what is was (I’m Dutch) so nice to have this first encounter. I took the liberty of translating your recipe into Dutch and have put it on my blog, for Dutch readers more easy to make. Of course I have put the original source (your website0 in there too! Many thanks, I will definitly make this more often! <3

I’ve made this 3 times this week. It was SO easy, tasty and filling. Husband ate more of it than I did. I topped with cilantro, red onion, avocado and a little queso fresco. So so so good and honestly one of the easiest dinner to throw together.

Dana, I made these for my family (including my brother-in-law’s family who are visiting from Algeria) and they were crazy about them. The flavors are just exquisite! You helping to give vegan cuisine a GREAT name. THANK YOU!!!

I made these last night and all I can think about today is making them again! I used all of the recommended condiments + guac. and it was a party in my mouth. The mix of spicy & sweet was just beyond amazing.

5 stars!
I made this recipe multiple times! Plantains are a staple in my kitchen.I grew up eating plantains so this was a definite for me! Great combination of spices that bring put the sweetness of the ripe plantains.Thank you!

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